Through out most of my childhood we ate bean soup because that was all we could afford. I remember my mom soaking the beans for hours and hours. But when she was done, we had THE best bean soup in the county! Later in years when I was starting my own family I decided to try my hand at mom's famous soup. But the engineering side of me kicked in. Why spend all that time in a soak when I could be cooking? And city water is way too expensive to just be throwing it down the drain. So I just threw the beans into the boiling water in a cast iron kettle, added some onion, ham and bacon, set it to a simmer then walked away for a couple hours. Except for occasional pot checks. When it was done, the beans were nice and tender and flavorful. Because of that success, I never soak the beans.

I'm a bit appalled that some people complain about the beans not being soft enough. That is why we were born with teeth, to actually chew with! Maybe they should put some beans in a blender with some ice and milk and have a Bean Smoothie! jk After 40 years I have perfected (in my opinion) the recipe. I use twenty different kinds of beans including Garbanzos which I add specifically for their firmer texture, three to four kinds of meat, colorful veggies like red and green bell peppers and carrots, and sometimes corn. This recipe is posted on allrecipes.com and has some nice reviews.

As for the gas, it's okay with me. I find that it increases my cars gas mileage significantly. Just my two cents worth.

The reason for soaking beans is to reduce the phytic acid that chelates minerals and prevents their absorption by the human body - it is for NUTRITIONAL reasons. Wisdom from the ages...

That's good information but I don't think our forefathers were considering chelated minerals when they started soaking beans. More likely it was to reduce the cooking time. Stoves ran on fire, and less stoking and reloading with firewood, the better.